Is your Wi-Fi 5G? How about your AT&T phone? Doesn't 5G require new cell towers, like, everywhere? No, no, and no. Confusing branding and marketing have been combining several similar terms, in some cases innocently and in some cases on purpose. Let's start by quickly answering some questions you might have:

Your home router has 5GHz Wi-Fi.

Your router isn't 5G cellular, the new system wireless carriers are installing now.

Okay, now let's explain what 5G, 5G E, and 5GHz Wi-Fi have to do with each other.

5GHz Wi-Fi Is Not 5G Cellular

5GHz Wi-Fi is a short range, home networking system that operates in the five-gigahertz radio band. It's been around since 1999, but it became more popular when 802.11n home routers were released in 2009. Most Wi-Fi devices support it now.

Wi-Fi primarily uses two frequency bands, 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Because the 2.4GHz band is the default for most devices, only has three available clear channels, and is shared by Bluetooth, remote controls, and microwave ovens, the 2.4GHz band can get very crowded and speeds can become very low.

5GHz Wi-Fi has more available channels and can typically run much faster, but it has somewhat shorter range than 2.4GHz. If you can use 5GHz Wi-Fi at home, you probably should. Want to know more? Check out our explainer on What Is Wi-Fi 6?

Now here's where things get confusing. Many people refer to 5GHz Wi-Fi as "5G Wi-Fi." Wi-Fi is not 5G, however.

5G Cellular Is Not 5GHz or "5G E"

The 5G that all of the wireless carriers are installing is the fifth generation of cell phone networks. If you're talking about Wi-Fi, "5G(Hz)" refers to a frequency band: five gigahertz. If you're talking about cellular, the "G" stands for "generation." They're completely different terms.

There's a set of specs that define 5G, and the industry has settled on 5G NR ("new radio") as the standard technology to fulfill those specs. 5G NR is a new way of encoding data through the air which is more efficient than previous generations. It can use wider channels, communicate more responsively with remote servers (lower latency), pack more data into one radio cycle, and address more devices per square mile than 4G can. It does this by using more advanced computing power in your device and in base stations than was available in 2009, when the 4G standard was set. You will almost certainly need a new phone to be able to access 5G, even on existing radio bands.

Driven by wireless carrier marketing, many people have become confused and think that 5G is synonymous with millimeter-wave, a very short-range, high-speed frequency band. mmWave 5G promises multi-gigabit speeds, but has trouble penetrating walls and traveling long distances. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon will all use at least some mmWave, in some cities. For what it's worth, because it's a shorter range technology, mmWave base stations are actually lower-power than traditional macro-cell sites.

But mmWave isn't necessary for 5G. AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile all plan to install 5G on existing 4G frequencies such as 600MHz, 1900MHz, and 2.5GHz. On those frequencies, 5G uses the same towers as 4G, and has the same distance and wall-penetration characteristics as existing 4G networks, but with lower latency and at least 35 percent greater speed. T-Mobile is counting on 600MHz to cover rural areas.

When you read pieces claiming that millimeter wave and 5G are the same thing, they're wrong. And if anyone says you can use 5G without upgrading your phone...well, read on.

AT&T 5G E Is Not Actually 5G

The first version of 5G NR requires a 4G LTE connection to set itself up, and 5G NR is also supposed to be able to combine with existing 4G networks for greater speeds, mixing and matching different kinds of channels. Also, in its earliest form, 5G NR is actually slower than the latest 4G technologies.

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That has led AT&T to rebrand its existing gigabit 4G LTE network as "5G E," or "5G Evolution." It is not 5G. It is 4G. But AT&T wants to argue that it's close enough that it doesn't matter.

In the mobile universe, a generation (a "G"), should mean a compatibility break. It's a signal that people need new equipment. 5G NR needs new phones and base station radios. 5G E does not, and that's really going to confuse people about whether their devices support 5G.

There's a backstory here. Ten years ago during the 3G/4G transition, Sprint and Verizon switched to arguably 4G technologies (LTE and WiMAX) before AT&T and T-Mobile did, because they had hit dead-ends in their 3G technologies, while AT&T and T-Mobile had more 3G runway left. To prevent from being left behind in the marketing race, AT&T and T-Mobile arm-twisted the standards bodies to get HSPA+, a form of 3G, declared as 4G, which most people still consider one of the shadiest things ever done in wireless technology. We're seeing that again with 5G E. Don't buy into the fake hype.

About the Author

PCMag.com's lead mobile analyst, Sascha Segan, has reviewed hundreds of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets in more than 13 years with PCMag. He's the head of our Fastest Mobile Networks project, hosts our One Cool Thing daily Web show, and writes opinions on tech and society.
Segan is also a multiple award-winning travel writer. Other than ... See Full Bio

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